be bold / don’t stress

IT'S NEVER REALLY LIFE-OR-DEATH

In discussing a risky choice I was preparing to make, I told my best friend that I felt like I was at a big, giant fork in the road. I could either stay in my office job and get a raise, or go freelance for a bit, branching out on my own. This choice was life-changing for me; its effects would ripple over my whole life—what my day-to-day would be like, my ability to pay my rent, my social network, my 401(k). I unloaded all of this on my friend, and her response was, “Go for it. It’s not life-or-death.”

I was surprised at first, but then I realized she was right. Choices are almost never life-or-death. Most of the time, we can bounce back from our choices if we need to; even if we fail, we can pivot. Robert Frost got us all worried that the proverbial “road less traveled” is the better one—that we could and might choose the wrong one, and that doing so would have terrible ramifications in perpetuity.

The truth, however, seems a lot simpler—if somewhat less profound. Sure, there are two roads, but whichever road you choose to travel on, you will eventually find your way, even if that means briefly going back the way you came. It’s not life-or-death.